Food options at this year's Grand Prix of Baltimore will include a Taste of Maryland tent, featuring crab cakes, soft crab sandwiches, fried oysters, corn on the cob and other food associated with Maryland cuisine.

The Maryland food tent, which will be located near the trophy stage, is being organized by the event's concessionaire, the Severn-based Crown Foods. Crown is also working with the Annapolis-based Allot Fresh Cuisine to bring more healthy options -- including vegan, gluten-free and kosher selections -- inside the race grounds. Allot was also part of this year's Artscape festival.

In addition, the Federal Hill restaurant Ryleigh's Oyster will host a raw bar and pit beef concession on McKeldin Square during the Labor Day weekend racing event. Ryleigh's wil have a presence inside the Maryland tent, too.

"We wanted to make this an event that had a lot of offerings for everyone, not just race fans," said Debbie Bell, vice president of sales and marketing with Race On, LLC, promoter of the Grand Prix of Baltimore, who provided information about the food at this year's Grand Prix, both in and out of the ticketed areas.

Bell said that Race On has been working through Visit Baltimore, the city's convention and tourism promoter, to extend the race's economic benefits beyond the event's gates. Grand Prix-related deals and offerings from Baltimore restaurants, retailers and attractions are posted on the Grand Prix website, on a page featuring Baltimore's neighborhoods. In the event's previous years, similar promotions were posted primarily on the tourism website.

“It's really come together this year in a much more encaging and collaborative effort,” said Sam Rogers, Visit Baltimore's chief marketing officer. Rogers added that signage pointing race attendees to nearby neighborhoods and attractions will be posted prominently at the event's entrance gates.